How To Play At Life: It's Not Always About Going Along With The Herd...That Herd Is Lost...

“Don't play what's there, play what's not there...” - Miles Davis

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ
Editor

DRIFTWOOD, Texas - We're headed here today just because. No real reason, other than it's on our run-around map these days. The Texas Hill Country does that to you, throws rural America and the country way at you every few miles down the road. New places and new faces; that's the ticket.

But, beyond that, it's about play, about doing things that won't shake anybody up, won't disturb the hustle and flow of the city, won't mean anything to anyone other than yourself. Some call it escapism, or simply getting away from it all. Yet, there's more to it. A drive into a new scene always does something to the soul. A hell-o to someone you've never seen before brings a certain joy. Tasting a local culinary specialty is equally as enjoyable. It could be this little town only miles from Austin, or it could be candy stores of Martha's Vineyard off the Massachusetts coast, or it could be the beaches of the Florida Keys, or the lodges of the Rocky Mountains.

What's important is that those places are there, waiting. At times, we ask ourselves why they are there, but there they are, doing their life impulse. Why does Driftwood exist? Dripping Springs up the road has a blooming artist colony, and shops and galleries abound. Invariably, people who own or operate them tell you they lived in the city most of their lives, got tired of the rat race and, yeah, drifted off.

We've made these day outings a mission of sorts, although hitting the trail always has been an interest that must be attended to, like showering for long, long minutes, like walking into a hair salon, making an appointment for months down the road and never keeping it. It's fun; it's play.

Perhaps it has much to do with the idea that we believe there are few serious issues left to resolve. Who was it that said, "There is only one serious question in life, and that is whether to kill yourself." Kafka? Freud? Sonny Corleone? Ah, does it matter?

It's a cool, sunny day here this morning, but weatherfolks are saying a cold blast is headed in. You know the kind, sleet and frigid winds - the sort of temperatures that add to the pleasure of driving the backroads of this neat part of the state. From what we've seen, there is coffee being brewed in most of these little towns, hot chocolate also part of the offerings.

So, we'll play. We'll take whatever the day brings. It's bright, light-sweater weather. It's calling me out, bringing its A-game.

Play. I love that word. It's one of the most under-rated words in the English language, and a word people generally assign to children. I don't. I never have...

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